Strategii snjatija ili smjagchenija konflikta: potencail rechevogo akta izvinenija v aspekte mezhkul'turnoj pragmatiki

The article considers the linguistic and communicative nature of an apology (a request forforgiveness) as a corrective action that is aimed at preventing or mitigating conflict. By analyzing speech situationsfrom Russian and Austrian culture and their illustrations in literary sources, it is established that apology occupiesan intermediate position between performative and non-performative utterance. There have been recorded thesituations, where even serious damage can be removed by an apology or an apology in combination withcompensation. There are three categories of apologies: metacommunicative, conventional and substantive apologies.The latter two are described in the article. The hypothesis of the study is substantiated by the thesis that theapology depends not only on the severity of the damage, but also on the traditions of culture and peculiarities ofthe communicative situation. This issue is one of the insufficiently studied questions of linguistics. The articleallocates the cultural universals of apologetic speech actions and culturally specific features of apology situationsin Russian and Austrian cultures. It is shown that in the sphere of politics, even decades after the infliction ofserious harm, a sincere apology for an insult or violation of the norms of behavior, uttered by the responsibleperson or his descendant, can be the basis for improving inter-state relations.